1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates a target practice apparatus, and more particularly to a target practice apparatus utilizing a target in the form of a projected image which allows shooting with live bullets and which improves the ability of a trainee to make a proper circumstantial judgment.
2. Related Art
Target practice is categorized into basic target practice in which a trainee improves his hitting accuracy when using live bullets, and advanced target practice in which the trainee shoots while judging a suitable timing and situation for firing.
In target practice, a trainee generally shoots at a stationary, moving or bobbing target, and the trainee or a judge visually checks the impact position on the target to evaluate the hitting accuracy and the ability of the trainee to make a proper circumstantial judgment.
To automatically and safely check such an impact position, various target practice apparatuses have been proposed. For example, in the target practice apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 53-121657, a sound wave due to firing of a live bullet is detected by a plurality of acoustic sensors to obtain an impact position on the target based on differences among points of time when the sound wave is detected by the sensors. In the target practice apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 5-196395, images of a target are captured by a video camera, and images before and after hitting of a bullet are processed to obtain the impact position based on the bullet mark.
Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) 56-119499 discloses a target practice apparatus which provides a moving target. This target practice apparatus utilizes a projected target device in which an image projected on a screen is used as a target. In the target device, a plurality of spaced strips of conductive rubber for an X-axis and a plurality of spaced strips of conductive rubber for a Y-axis are superposed onto each other in a grid-like configuration, and a screen on which an image is projected is attached to the surface thereof. When a bullet hits the screen, the conductive rubber for the X-axis contacts the conductive rubber for the Y-axis due to impact of the bullet so that an electrical connection is established between them. The position of the electrical connection represents the coordinates of the impact position. The impact position is then displayed on the screen using a spot light.
Other examples of target practice apparatuses in which bullets are actually shot at a projected image are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2-61499 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 1-193600. In the apparatus disclosed in the former document, transparent conductive film is used instead of conductive rubber. In the apparatus disclosed in the latter document, a transparent target is used to allow an image to be projected from the rear side of the target, and transparent pressure sensitive resistors and photo diodes are arranged along a designated pattern. In this apparatus, an impact position is displayed by selectively turning on the photo diodes. However, these apparatus uses dummy bullets, and a projected target which responds to the impact of the dummy bullets.
In the advanced target practice for improving the ability to make a proper circumstantial judgment, it is preferred to use a target practice apparatus in which a projected target is used.
However, the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) 56-119499 has the following disadvantages. First, a position detection mechanism which is formed by conductive rubber, conductive film, or pressure sensitive resistors may be destroyed when live bullets are used. Therefore, instead of live bullets, dummy bullets are used in the apparatuses of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) Nos. 1-193600 and 2-61499.
Second, since the projection screen is formed by superposing conductive rubber sheets or conductive films in a grid-like configuration, an enormous number of rubber sheets or films is needed. For example, in the case where an impact position must be detected on a screen measuring 2,400 mm.times.1,800 mm with an accuracy of 5 mm, 172,800 (480.times.360) conductive rubber sheets or conductive films must be bonded to the screen. This bonding work is troublesome, and the target must be replaced with a new one due to damage caused by live bullets. Therefore, this target incurs high operational costs.
Third, in the projection screen, an impact position on a screen which is detected by an impact position detector is displayed only by a spot light or a photo diode which is not related to various portions of a projected image. Therefore, it is impossible to vary the scoring depending on which parts of a human image are struck, such as the hands, legs, or head of the image.